Oliver Zahn (DE)

“Hitler loved to explain that he was building in order to pass on his time and its spirit to posterity. In the end, he said, the great epochs of history were only remembered by their monumental buildings. What remained of the emperors of the Roman Empire? What would still bear witness to them today, if not their buildings?” (Albert Speer, Memoirs, 1969)

In the lecture performance “Ruinen” (Ruins) Oliver Zahn examines the legacy of the buildings of past empires and the future of buildings that are yet to become ruins. An essay about ghosts, futures that never happen, and inescapable geological processes. Oliver Zahn presented the digital lecture performance “Lob des Vergessens, Teil 2” (In Praise of Forgetting, Part 2) in the 2021 programme. His choreographic-discursive performance essays often revolve around historiography, the politics of memory, and immaterial knowledge. The work is created live on the desktop, as the central site of contemporary knowledge production and access gateway to the world archive Internet.

Participation via Zoom
A computer or tablet and a stable internet connection are required to stream the performance live. Participation requires downloading the Zoom software and agreeing to its privacy policy.